I'm glad you support my argument.

Jamie says such an attitude is left wing so I must be one of you after all.

Nice try

We've have foreign types and alien cultures influencing and evolving, some might say devolving, our land since Roman times.

We've done alright in part, a significant part, because of them.

We'd still be living like hut dwellers and nomads if it weren't for them. All of us dreadlocked smelly crusties.

Thank you Johnny Foreigner and mass raping invaders.

I understand your view point and the reasons why you hold it.
I however cannot bend to the idea that beyond basic common courtesy, we should pander in any way whatsoever to a religion that is totally alien to our culture and who's teachings on a number of issues are so abhorrent.
The Muslim population will grow relative to the total regardless of how many more enter in the future and it will therefore become a greater influence on our culture and society. It is the teaching of Islam to dominate the world and overthrow the Infadel(that's us in case you are forgetting)and if you are going to tell me that most Muslims couldn't care less about all that stuff then I would ask you remember how easily religious people are controlled by a small group or even one person. We have had people leaving their university and going to fight for ISIS because of what they have seen on the internet, this is not just paranoia. We must think about a worst case scenario in the future and not just let it unfold and then deny it was all our fault in the first place. Radical Islam has shown itself to be more aggressive dangerous in the modern era than the other faiths. Only a tiny amount Muslims may be "radical" but like the IRA they have active support from a section of that community and sympathy from an even larger section. Your solution is to win hearts and minds but I believe they would see that as capitulation. They have an unbending and absolute belief that they are doing the will of their God. We(the infadel)are merely an obstacle to that vision of the world and they will take what we give them and see it as justification and confirmation of that belief.
Even if there was no danger element to Muslim faith, no ISIL, the idea of bending our laws to suit a religious doctrine is so totally against my principles that I couldn't entertain it even under the most peaceful of circumstances. That sort of policy is something we should be moving away from and putting it in the past and it doesn't take much imagination to see how the Muslim population will expect more concessions from our society as they grow in number and climb on the concessions they have already been given. It is the proverbial slippery slope. Christian religions in Britain are on the decline in terms of numbers and influence and I am largely very happy about that. I do not want to see their influence replaced by Islam.

I know that you are very reasonable individual and a humanitarian at heart but you ar just plain wrong on this one.
As someone who dislikes religion almost as much as me, you must see the dangers of even appearing to acknowledge the validity of such a pervasive, aggressive and backward thinking belief system. This is not about now, this is about our future and how we want it to look. We have been at the mercy of crazy religions for far too long and I say it's time to make a stand. We need to draw the proverbial line in the sand and say no further.

See the problem is, I've known quite a few Muslims now, and none of them really fit that mould. Some people they know do, but they also generally regard them as backwards thinking, and tend to be an older generation. Now its true that most of those Muslims have been Ismaili Muslims, who are much more liberal, pacifist, and mostly migrated to Europe to escape oppression in the Middle East (and make up a significant portion of the UK Shia Muslim population).

Also I don't see the population of Muslims ever reaching a tipping point, as that story that they'll out breed us, is commonly untrue throughout history, whether its the Catholics, Hindi Indians, Banglideshi, Black Africans etc. What tends to happen is that they become more 'affected by the existing culture'.

When you look at the first generation Indian Migrants, and their children and Grandchildren, they're far more Westernised than Indian. The same happens with Muslims.

Sure some will always be attracted to Islamists, especially the young idealist, but the same is true with Far Right and Far Leftists. Whilst these two haven't been a serious terrorist problem in the UK, its important to remember that they have been across our European counterparts (The Angry Brigade and Combat-18 et al aside).

The problem isn't Muslims, in the same way that the problems in NI weren't Catholic or Protestants, it was those who co-opt that division for political gain - and then work to further divide the 99% who get along everyday, into increasing polarised factions, which they can increasingly exploit.

The problem is, the more we focus on the 1%, the greater the alienation of the 99% become, which is exactly what radicals want, it allows their message to be acceptable, as the only option. Its the basis of vanguard revolutionary movements - generally referred to as terrorists. Every action, creates a backlash, and that backlash invariably hits the innocent harder each time, and creates an environment in which people are increasingly more receptive to the message of the radicals, even if its just as a means of lashing out with the frustration of being increasingly victimised despite having done nothing wrong.